Re: TWC needs to work on RETENTION

They most certainly do. I called due to my package went to 173.00 have a very low service., even talked to a prrson in retention dept. They offered to take 10 off plus give me Epic didnt ask for more.Guess I will be checking into direct Tv my daughter just signed up & got two yrs for 69.00 with more channels then what I have with time warner.

TWC needs to work on RETENTION

I understand prices changing year to year but you offer nothing that is automatic for long time pay on time customers. We have to call, beg, plead and play games to catch a $10.00 break . It is an awful way to treat customers. My aunt has an appointment today to get cable, phone, premium channels and Internet for $49.00 for 2 years. I pay $200 for that service and I don't have all the premium channels. There is no way you can tell me there is any logic or fairness to this.

Re: TWC needs to work on RETENTION

There is no way you can tell me there is any logic or fairness to this.

Fairness, no. Logic, yes, but it's ugly. The ugly truth is the only measurement that counts for the salesperson is the number of NEW accounts they bring in -- they get zero "points" for retaining existing customers. So all of their efforts go into acquiring new customers via promotions, commercials, mailings, cold calls, and sometimes even door-to-door campaigns.

Once that new customer is on the books for the requisite number of days (a TWC secret, I don't know what it is, let's say 30 days just for the sake of argument), the salesperson gets credit for that customer. Get enough credits, you not only get to keep your job, but with enough credits you might get promoted -- or get a nice bonus/raise.

Now, if that customer eventually gets tired of the TWC/Spectrum run-around, and moves to a competitor, they'll get the brief "royal treatment" from them, too, because all of these near-monopolies are using the same business strategy. If they come back to TWC/Spectrum after enough time has passed (that number is another secret), they'll get treated like a "new" customer again.

Until people start leaving TWC/Spectrum (or Comcast, etc) in droves, they will not do anything special for existing customers, you're just "a piece of meat that pays them money". If you're in an area where you have a real choice of providers, your best personal strategy is to switch whenever your current promotion expires. That way you'll always get the latest "best possible deal", just don't tie yourself to provider-specific services, like a TWC e-mail address.

Re: TWC needs to work on RETENTION

Running into this as well today. Trying to cancel TV and my internet jumps from $45 to $75, then I was "lucky" enough to be offered $65. The first agent I spoke with offered me $50, but I had to talk it over with my wife since I was only looking for information. The second agent I spoke with basically called me a liar that the first one offered me $50. The third agent offered me the $65 option for a year, but couldn't tell me what it would jump to after the year. I'm beyond frustrated and have been a TWC customer for well over 14 years. Now I'm looking elsewhere for my internet option.

Re: TWC needs to work on RETENTION

I agree. TWC, now Spectrum, is my only option in my building due to our condo association. I have been a customer for close to 20 years! I like the Spectrum pricing and packages, but I could not change my options. I was able to upgrade my internet only, not TV - it is way better. However, this took three phone calls and a trip to the nearest store. The new DVR and router is amazing. Our TWC equipment always failed and overheated. LOL. TWC needed to do some serious "red carpet" marketing to promote Spectrum and what options were available to "senior" TWC customers like me. A "swag box" or a free electronic item, maybe, would have soften the blow with some. I like my new internet service, but wish I had better TV options.

Re: TWC needs to work on RETENTION

[ Edited ]

After reading many of the responses, I find the TWC logic is faulty. I'm not asking that I pay the same price for potato chips that I paid in 2001. I'm saying that when I go into a store and buy a bag of potato chips, I should be paying the same price for that bag of chips as the person in front of me is paying. If the cashier says the person in front of me owes $1.00 because he's never been in the store before, but I owe $1.75 because I have been shopping there for years -- this is simply not fair. It's the same bag of chips, folks. We should all be paying the same if the bag of chips is the same. Why is this so hard for TWC to understand?

Re: TWC needs to work on RETENTION

Why is this so hard for TWC to understand?

Oh, they understand it -- they simply refuse to be bound by it. The measurement system for the sales team is focused on NEW customers, so they offer incentives to new customers. Existing customers can stay, if they want, but they'll pay more and get treated as what they are: sources of income.

We peons keep assuming that Spectrum/TWC has some interest in retaining customers. That's not the case. Yes, if 25% of their customer base left in a given quarter, there would be some level of panic at headquarters. But if a given quarter shows roughly the same turnover rate (some customers lost, some gained) then the Spectrum/TWC strategy is working and nothing needs to be done.

Re: TWC needs to work on RETENTION

I just spoke to Colorado Springs - There are NO promo offers for current Spectrum customers. This makes long time TWC now Spectrum customers feel abused and frustrated and shopping for cord cutting options. Spectrum should consider matching deals offered to new customers to existing customers in order to increase loyalty instead of anger.